Remathilis
Legend
As we finish up the divine classes and look to the arcane, I can't help but feel the warlock's spellcasting is due for an overhaul.
Pact Magic was designed to emulate 4e's "encounter" magic design; limited abilities refreshed on a short rest. A lot of species and class abilities have moved from x/short rests to prof/mod per day (or x/long rest, as with channel nature). I wager a lot of other short rest classes (fighter and monk) will likewise be reworked to remove mandatory lunch breaks. But warlock has a unique spellcasting mechanic that needs additional work.
Pact Magic as written in 2014 is messy. It does not work like other spellcasters. It gets very few slots (2 for the majority of low levels) that refresh on short rest and all spells cast are of the highest level possible. Additionally, pact magic doesn't actually grant 6th+ level spells (mystic arcanum does) but that's not immediately evident looking at the table vs the spell list. Finally, warlock's have a limited set of known spells and as the Expert packet has taught us, the new paradigm is preparing from your whole list based on spell slots. Clearly, pact magic is a complex mess of alternative spellcasting mechanics that don't play nice with any other spellcasting rules, and if the druid is any indication, WotC is going to streamline anything that is overly complicated for new players. With that, I can't see any way pact magic survives as it was.
But what replaces it? My first guess is that they get a more traditional method of spellcasting that matches the rest of the caster classes. That will reduce complexity, fix issues with multi-classing (including sorlock and pallock shenanigans with smites and spell points) and allow more diversity in what a warlock casts (currently, warlocks are disincentivized to cast spells that don't scale with spell level.)
The only concern I see is what spell level a warlock should cap out at. Technically, they are level 9 spellcasters currently (thanks to MA) but they also have far less spells per day than a full caster. Much of their power comes from invocations and I'm concerned about if full casting + invocations are too much. Perhaps the warlock becomes that mythical "arcane half-caster" akin to the artificer, but it would break compatibility to not have them learn 6th+ level spells. Perhaps keep MA with half caster? I don't know how that would work.
Anyway, what do you think the final fate of pact magic is? And what would you replace it with?
Pact Magic was designed to emulate 4e's "encounter" magic design; limited abilities refreshed on a short rest. A lot of species and class abilities have moved from x/short rests to prof/mod per day (or x/long rest, as with channel nature). I wager a lot of other short rest classes (fighter and monk) will likewise be reworked to remove mandatory lunch breaks. But warlock has a unique spellcasting mechanic that needs additional work.
Pact Magic as written in 2014 is messy. It does not work like other spellcasters. It gets very few slots (2 for the majority of low levels) that refresh on short rest and all spells cast are of the highest level possible. Additionally, pact magic doesn't actually grant 6th+ level spells (mystic arcanum does) but that's not immediately evident looking at the table vs the spell list. Finally, warlock's have a limited set of known spells and as the Expert packet has taught us, the new paradigm is preparing from your whole list based on spell slots. Clearly, pact magic is a complex mess of alternative spellcasting mechanics that don't play nice with any other spellcasting rules, and if the druid is any indication, WotC is going to streamline anything that is overly complicated for new players. With that, I can't see any way pact magic survives as it was.
But what replaces it? My first guess is that they get a more traditional method of spellcasting that matches the rest of the caster classes. That will reduce complexity, fix issues with multi-classing (including sorlock and pallock shenanigans with smites and spell points) and allow more diversity in what a warlock casts (currently, warlocks are disincentivized to cast spells that don't scale with spell level.)
The only concern I see is what spell level a warlock should cap out at. Technically, they are level 9 spellcasters currently (thanks to MA) but they also have far less spells per day than a full caster. Much of their power comes from invocations and I'm concerned about if full casting + invocations are too much. Perhaps the warlock becomes that mythical "arcane half-caster" akin to the artificer, but it would break compatibility to not have them learn 6th+ level spells. Perhaps keep MA with half caster? I don't know how that would work.
Anyway, what do you think the final fate of pact magic is? And what would you replace it with?